23rd annual Oktoberfest at Indian Wells Brewing Co.

Tuesday

Oct 10, 2017 at 8:00 AM

Michael Smit Community Editor

It was the 23rd annual Oktoberfest celebration at Indian Wells Brewing Company on Saturday. Some strode in wearing lederhosen, others wore cowboy hats. Some arrived in luxury cars, others rode in on dirt bikes. But what everyone had in common was a beer in their hand and a smile on their face.

Music from the live rock band The Remodelers boomed through the venue, keeping energy high. The smell of mouth-watering meals wafted through the air, catered by Casey's Steakhouse. Schroeder's Kettle Corn worked non-stop scooping popcorn to hand out in bags the size of a small child.

Most important of all, there was beer. Lots of beer. Unique beer, with flavors created and beer brewed right there at the Indian Wells Brewing Company in Inyokern at 2565 Highway 14. Blackout Stout. Amnesia I.P.A. Lunatic Lemonade. Lobotomy Bock. And the bold 12 percent Whiskey Barrel Amber, which this Daily Independent reporter did imbibe to the fullest.

Rick Lovett, who co-founded Indian Wells Brewing Company with Greg Antonaros, led tours through the brewery. Towards the end of one tour, someone asked him which beer is his favorite.

"Mojave Red was my favorite first beer, so it'll always hold some sentimental value for me. I named it. I won three gold medals with it," Lovett said. "But the beer that's in my fridge is Death Valley Pale Ale."

Lovett told the Daily Independent that they started holding the Oktoberfest celebration the very first year the brewery opened, 23 years ago. They've held it ever since, watching the event grow just as the brewery itself has.

During the tour, Lovett explained how brewing beer went from a hobby to a profession for him. He said that he was first a police officer in Ridgecrest and the criminal justice teacher at Burroughs High School. While doing this, he began brewing beer on his own as a hobby.

"I was really just brewing for fun," Lovett told the crowd. "I started making beer because I couldn't buy the beers I wanted to drink. The choices back then were Bud, Coors, or Miller."

As he got better at it, Antonaros, who owned a restaurant, asked Lovett if he'd like to brew some beer for fun at a special event. Lovett went for it, and his beer sold out in two hours. He realized he might be on for something.

State law requires that a firefighter or police officer must be retrained for another career path if they're injured in the line of duty. After an injury, Lovett decided to go all in and went to Master Brewers school. When he came back, he and Antonaros built Indian Wells Brewing Company and the journey began.

However, Lovett is a businessman first and foremost. As the years went on, he saw another area for the business to extend its arm into, and that arm eventually became the stronger one.

"The big dog here now is soda pop," he said. "For every bottle of beer I sell here, I sell twelve bottles of soda pop. I am a soda pop factory that makes beer part-time."

But Indian Wells Brewing Company doesn't just make the standard cola with minor variants. Lovett said they have over 155 flavors of soda. They range from standard (cola) to the strange (cookie dough) to the utterly confusing (dirt). A large portion is made and bottled for Rocket Fizz Soda.

Confusing as it may be, Lovett has clearly found an untapped market. He said his beer goes out to seven states, but his soda goes out to all 50 states and internationally.

Visit their website at www.mojavered.com to learn more.

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